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Notifiable incidents: reporting procedure under the WHS Act

How to report a notifiable incident under the WHS Act: phone your state regulator immediately, preserve the scene, submit written notice within 48 hours. Regulator number

By Dan Waring. Last updated 10 May 2026. Verified 10 May 2026.

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TL;DR

A notifiable incident is a workplace death, serious injury or illness, or dangerous incident under WHS Act ss 35-38. Call your state regulator immediately the moment you become aware, day or night. A written notice is required within 48 hours of becoming aware (except Queensland, where phone notification is sufficient). Do not disturb the incident site until an inspector arrives or gives clearance, except to attend to injured persons or prevent further harm. Records must be kept for at least 5 years. Failing to notify is a Category 3 offence: fines up to $795,000 for a company.

When you do this

The notification duty triggers the moment you, as the PCBU (or officer, supervisor, or manager acting for the PCBU), become aware that a notifiable incident has occurred on a site you manage or control. There is no grace period, no waiting to assess severity, and no exception for after-hours incidents. The regulator lines listed below are staffed 24/7.

This applies whether the injured person is your employee, a subcontractor, a subcontractor’s worker, a visitor, or a member of the public. Under s 7 of the model WHS Act, “worker” is broad and the duty is not discharged by engaging a subcontractor.

What counts as a notifiable incident

The Act defines three categories (verified 2026-05-10):

Death (s 35)

Any death of a person arising from the conduct of your business or undertaking is notifiable. No threshold, no minimum exposure time.

Serious injury or illness (s 36)

An injury or illness that requires immediate in-patient hospital admission, or immediate treatment for any of:

Injury or illnessNotes
Amputation of any body partIncludes partial amputation
Serious head injuryFractured skull, loss of consciousness, intracranial injury
Serious eye injuryPenetration, acute vision loss
Serious burnIncludes chemical burns
Separation of skin from underlying tissueDegloving or scalping
Spinal injuryIncludes vertebral fracture
Loss of a bodily functionPermanent or temporary
Serious lacerationRequiring suturing
Medical treatment within 48 hours of substance exposureInhalation, ingestion, dermal absorption of a hazardous substance

Bone fractures: The current legislation (pre December 2025 model amendment) also covers “a bone fracture of the skull, spine, pelvis or other serious bone fracture” under applicable state Acts. Check with your state regulator if a fracture is not clearly in the list above. The Safe Work Australia model amendment (December 2025) consolidates this as “serious bone fracture” and adds “serious crush injury” as an explicit category, but that amendment has not yet been adopted by any jurisdiction as at May 2026 (verified 2026-05-10).

Dangerous incident (s 37)

An incident that exposes any person to a serious risk, even if no injury results. On a residential construction site, the most relevant triggers are:

Dangerous incidentExamples on site
Collapse or partial collapse of a structureWall/floor/roof frame, formwork, retaining wall
Collapse or failure of an excavationTrench collapse, shoring failure
Uncontrolled implosion, explosion or fireGas cylinder, propane torch, spontaneous combustion
Uncontrolled escape or leakage of a substanceFuel spill, chemical drum rupture
Uncontrolled escape of gas or steamGas line strike
Electric shockContact with live conductors, underground cable strike
Fall or release from height of any plant, substance or thingScaffold component, loaded pallet from scissor lift

Key point: A dangerous incident is notifiable even if nobody is hurt. The test is whether any person was exposed to a serious risk.

Who must notify

The PCBU with management or control of the workplace at the time of the incident must notify. On a residential site:

  • If you are the head contractor: you notify, regardless of which subcontractor’s worker was involved.
  • If you are a subcontractor: you notify your regulator and you also inform the head contractor immediately. Both PCBUs share the site; both may have notification obligations depending on the circumstances.
  • If you are a sole trader: you are the PCBU. You notify.

Multiple PCBUs at the same site do not each need to lodge separate notifications for the same incident, but each must ensure it has been done. The safest practice is for the head contractor to lodge and confirm with all other PCBUs on site.

Steps

Step 1: Attend to the injured

Call 000 if there is any immediate risk to life or ongoing danger. First aid and emergency services take priority over regulator notification. You may disturb the site to the extent necessary to provide first aid, remove a deceased person, make the site safe, or assist police.

Step 2: Call your state regulator immediately

Do not wait until business hours. These lines operate 24/7:

State/TerritoryRegulatorPhone
NSWSafeWork NSW13 10 50
VICWorkSafe Victoria13 23 60
QLDWorkplace Health and Safety Qld1300 362 128
WAWorkSafe WA1800 678 198
SASafeWork SA (critical incidents)1800 777 209
TASWorkSafe Tasmania1300 366 322
NTNT WorkSafe1800 019 115
ACTWorkSafe ACT(02) 6207 3000

Phone numbers verified May 2026 against each regulator’s official website. Always cross-check at your regulator’s site before an incident occurs.

Victoria: the duty sits in the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) ss 37-39 rather than the model WHS Act. The obligation is equivalent: notify immediately, written notice within 48 hours, preserve the site (verified 2026-05-10).

Queensland: phone notification satisfies the written notice requirement. If you notify by phone, WorkSafe Qld provides written confirmation of the information received. A separate written notice is not required (verified 2026-05-10).

Step 3: Preserve the incident site

Under s 39 of the model WHS Act (and equivalent state provisions), do not disturb the site of a notifiable incident until a WorkSafe/SafeWork inspector arrives or directs otherwise (verified 2026-05-10).

You may disturb the site only to:

  • Attend to an injured person
  • Remove a deceased person
  • Make the site safe or prevent further injury
  • Assist police

Preserve the site by:

  • Isolating the area with tape, barriers, or exclusion zones
  • Photographing the scene before anything is moved (subject to above exceptions)
  • Securing plant, equipment, or materials involved
  • Securing any CCTV, dashcam, or sensor data

Investigators need the scene intact. Disturbing the site without clearance is a separate offence.

Step 4: Submit written notice within 48 hours

For all jurisdictions except Queensland, you must provide written notification within 48 hours of becoming aware of the incident. Most regulators provide an online form.

RegulatorOnline notification
SafeWork NSWsafework.nsw.gov.au
WorkSafe Victoriaworksafe.vic.gov.au
WorkSafe WAworksafe.wa.gov.au
SafeWork SAsafework.sa.gov.au
WorkSafe Tasmaniaworksafe.tas.gov.au
NT WorkSafeworksafe.nt.gov.au
WorkSafe ACTworksafe.act.gov.au

The written notice must cover: the time, date, and location of the incident; nature of the notifiable incident; name and contact details of the notifying person; description of what happened. Check the specific form for your jurisdiction.

Step 5: Keep records for 5 years

The PCBU must keep a record of each notifiable incident for at least 5 years from the date of notification (verified 2026-05-10 against WorkSafe Victoria guidance; consistent with model WHS Act). Records include the notification details, any photos or CCTV captured, SWMS in place at the time, and any subsequent investigation notes.

Step 6: Cooperate with the investigation

An inspector may attend the site, issue improvement notices or prohibition notices, seize materials, take statements, or initiate a prosecution. You must cooperate. You are not required to give a statement that would incriminate yourself, but you must not obstruct or mislead an inspector.

Documents needed

  • Regulator notification form (online) or written confirmation of phone notification
  • Incident record: date, time, location, persons involved, description of events
  • SWMS and any risk assessments applicable to the work being done
  • Site photos (taken after immediate safety steps, before further disturbance)
  • Witness details
  • Plant or equipment maintenance records if plant failure is involved

Common holds

“I’m not sure if it’s notifiable.” If in doubt, call and ask. The regulator lines field enquiries. Failing to notify when required is an offence; calling unnecessarily is not.

“The subcontractor is handling it.” The head contractor cannot delegate the notification duty. Confirm with the subcontractor whether they have notified; if not, or if you are unsure, notify yourself.

“It happened after hours.” The lines are 24/7. Notify immediately. Do not wait until the next business day.

“The worker refused hospital treatment.” If the injury falls within the s 36 list, the notification duty applies regardless of whether the worker sought treatment. A serious laceration requiring suturing is notifiable even if the worker declines.

“Nothing actually went wrong.” A dangerous incident under s 37 is notifiable even if no injury occurred. The test is exposure to serious risk.

References

See also

Last updated: 2026-05-10. Verified: 2026-05-10. Quarterly review for currency.

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